In conventional systems, virtual private networks (VPN) provide a client computer with secure access to a private network. Typically, the client is assigned an internet protocol (IP) address on the private network after a VPN server authenticates the client. Once the client is authenticate and can access the VPN, the client may securely access resources residing on the private network.
Typically, VPNs do not support peer-to-peer connections between clients on the VPN. Some systems enable a client to establish a separate, secure connection to other clients when the client wishes to transmit data to another client, effectively creating a second virtual private network. In some of these systems, the clients communicate directly with each other through a connection that is independent of the virtual private network. But conventional systems do not typically enable clients who have already established connections to the VPN to communicate with each other in a peer-to-peer mode.
A system in which a VPN server enabled clients connected to a virtual private network to communicate with each other in a peer-to-peer mode while utilizing existing connections to the VPN would be desirable.